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It appears Operation Pressure Drew Brees will have Ray McDonald operating near full strength after the Niners defensive tackle suffered a hamstring injury in San Francisco’s season finale at St. Louis on Jan. 1.
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The point? Drew Brees will likely put up big stats against San Francisco’s secondary. But as the 49ers’ Alex Smith noted (a bit snappily) this week, there’s more to winning than flinging it for 330 yards.
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In a continuing effort to assist casual bettors and degenerate gamblers alike, we offer this advice: If a “Total Number of Interceptions” prop bet exists for the 49ers-Saints divisional playoff game, take the under and thank Niner Insider with a small (or large) donation from your winnings later.
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Seven months ago, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith had no idea where to find wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
When asked if his top wideout would be attending the player-organized workouts at San Jose State during the lockout, Smith said, “Great question. A…
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As the 49ers prepare to face the New Orleans Saints in their Saturday playoff game, city and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. officials announced Wednesday that they have run several tests to prevent another blackout at Candlestick Park.

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(01-11) 20:35 PST -- For starters, the 49ers coaching staff messed with Vernon Davis' feet, asking the Pro Bowl tight end to bring them closer together when he got in his stance.
But that was nothing compared with what they did to his head.
On Wednesd... More »

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Drew Brees called Alex Smith a “game manager” on Tuesday. No doubt, the New Orleans Saints quarterback’s comment will be read as trash talk. The phrase has become a thinly veiled slur, as close to obscenity as a sports figure can get on a conference ca…
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The 49ers might know Saints quarterback Drew Brees and running back Darren Sproles better than people think. Brees maintains his off-season home in San Diego with a group of other NFL players including Sproles, 49ers safety C.J. Spillman and 49ers tight end Justin Peelle. “Brees was on Sproles from the beginning,” Spillman said. “He really […]
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Davis ended the season by matching a season-high with eight catches for 118 yards, the second-highest total of his career, in a 34-27 win over the Rams. In his final five games, he had 24 catches for 308 yards. In the seven games before his season-ending streak, he had 24 catches for 260 yards.
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The term “storied franchise” is probably bandied about a bit too freely, but it’s a phrase tailor-made for the 49ers. From Brodie to Lott, Montana to Young, and all the others in between, there have been many great postseason plays and performances in 49ers history. With just three days until the 49ers’ divisional matchup against […]
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49ers coach Jim Harbaugh has a reputation for putting players in different positions, and that’s exactly what he’s doing with rookie Colin Jones. Drafted as a safety, Jones took a snap as a receiver against St. Louis in the season finale, and has exclusively gone into offensive meetings this week. “I played running back and […]
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As the 49ers discovered in August, Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will blitz during the preseason.
But that’s nothing. San Francisco center Jonathan Goodwin, who spent two seasons with Williams in New Orleans, makes it sound as if Williams…
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If you’re planning on nabbing last-minute tickets for the 49ers’ game against the Saints on Saturday, your wallet will soon be weeping. According to stats gathered by SeatGeek, a website that aggregates tickets from secondary vendors like StubHub, eBay and TicketCity, ticket prices for the divisional playoff game have soared 67% over the last 10 […]
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Tight end Delanie Walker spoke about his broken jaw ordeal, which included 10 days of eating nourishment through a straw because his jaw was wired shut. Walker still has braces on his teeth and bands can be attached at any time to stabilize the jaw. Walker said one advantage of the process was that the […]
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According to the report, Payton, upset that Harbaugh didn’t call to discuss the rules of engagement, told defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to blitz the Niners, who allowed six first-half sacks under New Orleans’ heavy pressure.
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They registered six sacks and nine quarterback hits on Drew Brees, who had a 73.0 rating, the second-lowest of the season. Before a garbage-time touchdown drive that ended with a scoring pass to Lance Moore with six seconds left, Brees had completed 20 of 31 passes for 181 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions.
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Don’t count out Delanie Walker just yet.
Sixteen days after Walker’s jaw was broken in two places Dec. 24 at Seattle, coach Jim Harbaugh said the 49ers will keep a roster spot open for him in hopes he can play in the postseason.
Harbaugh didn’t rule W…
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Cornerback Chris Culliver of the 49ers offered a clever, impromptu Drew Brees impersonation Monday. Culliver was fielding questions about Brees when he suddenly struck a quarterback’s pose – right arm cocked as if about to throw, eyes patiently scanni…
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Five months after the fact, an NFL preseason game could actually mean something.
On the cusp of the franchise’s first playoff game in nine years, the 49ers can look back to August and savor memories of the sucker punches their offense took in New Or…
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Crazy. Nuts. And bogus.
Those were the words Saints coach Sean Payton used to describe a report that he was offended when 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh didn’t call him before their teams met in the preseason on Aug. 12. The report was based on what a Saints…
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Jim Harbaugh will often take a moment to answer a question, that’s because he parses his words carefully. So when Harbaugh characterizes himself as “moody and complicated” which he has said a couple of times, he doesn’t mean, “moody and difficult.” Unfortunately, I wrote “moody and difficult” the other day. Lots of people like to […]
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The subject was raised today, of course, because the Harbaugh and Payton will renew acquaintances Saturday at Candlestick Park. The game will be played five months after New Orleans violated NFL protocol by blitzing, and blitzing, and blitzing San Francisco in the preseason opener.
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